


Words We Whisper to Each Other

by shimmeringswift



Series: The Things We Hide [6]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Backstory, Boyfriends, Brothers, Bubbles - Freeform, Coffee, Crushes, Domestic Fluff, Drama, Everything is starting to go to shit, Explicit Language, F/F, Fluff, Gavcats - Freeform, Gavcats are perverts, Gavin is a science major, Here comes the angst y'all, Hospitals, Injury, Kissing, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Nudity, Pain, Play Fighting, Prosthetic Limb, Referenced Daddy Kink, Robotics, Romance, SHIP NAMES, Sappy, Science Stuff, Showers, Silly Coffee Mugs, Swearing, Teasing, Thirium, This is where shit gets real, Trashcan the Cat, Trauma, Vulnerability, We Call RK900 Richard in this House, We also call him Nines, breakdowns, cuteness, live streams, mafia!au, musician!AU, pain meds, streamer!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-01 08:55:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18797086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmeringswift/pseuds/shimmeringswift
Summary: Gavin’s cheeks flushed. “You’re such a fucking sap.”“You like it.” A teasing smile appeared on Richard’s face.





	1. Blame Swings the Wrong Way

**Author's Note:**

> Here you are, Gavcats! Happy Mother's Day to all you Mommies out there. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“I know, Connor.” Richard sighed into his cell phone. “We had plans and I am cancelling them. But, I am not just going to leave Gavin here by himself. He was _shot_ , big brother.”

So, he was playing dirty by calling Connor ‘big brother’. They both were fully aware that Connor could never refuse Richard when he used the epithet he so rarely said.

Connor’s low exhale could be heard through the phone before he paused _. “He was shot? By who?”_

“He said it was the man who had the bomb up in Northern Derroit, and Lieutenant Anderson is already looking into it.” He paused, his hands stilling after he placed the pot on the stovetop. Hesitation settled in, though he didn’t elaborate on it.

_“But?”_

Trust his twin to catch his hesitation. Richard shuffled around the kitchen as quietly as possible. He’d tucked Gavin into bed, but he really needed to get him to eat. His current attempt to make food with the ingredients his boyfriend’s apartment had (which was a surprising amount of healthy foods) was some form of chicken soup. “ _But,_ there is a lingering suspicion in my mind.”

 _“Oh.”_ There it was. _The tone._ The one Connor used when he was about to go into a big brother ‘I-Knew-It’ mode. _“You believe you two were seen out together and he was targeted?”_

Adjusting the phone against his ear as he chopped vegetables, Richard clenched his jaw. “What else am I supposed to believe, Connor? It isn’t as though I don’t have a recognizable face. One we share, if I do recall correctly. Gavin and I have already been on multiple dates, so it isn’t entirely unbelievable, especially considering the fact there were only three people shot. Typically, crossfire numbers are higher. It is the perfect cover.”

_“All right, all right. I understand. I’ll look into it. You take care of your… Gavin. I will see you when you return home.”_

As Richard hung up the phone, the door to the apartment opened. He peered over his shoulder, stilling his elegant movements with the knife to see Tina in the doorway. “Kitchen,” he called quietly, turning back to the cutting board.

“Morning, Nines.” Tina chimed, waltzing into the kitchen. “Er… Afternoon, I guess? I brought back Trashcan. He disappeared. Probably went to go sleep on top of Gavin. I also got his mail.”

She slapped the mail down on the counter beside him, hopping up to sit on it as she sorted through it. “What are you making?”

“Soup.”

“Feeling chatty today, I see.”

He fixed her with a steely glare as he dumped the vegetables into the pot on the stove.

Tina only raised an eyebrow. “Who peed in your cheerios?”

“ _My boyfriend was shot_.” He managed through clench teeth as he went to grab the thawed chicken from the fridge. The knife slammed down into the first chicken breast. It didn’t take long for them to all be perfectly cut into bite-sized pieces and poured into the pot with the vegetables. Richard rummaged around the kitchen, putting all of the other ingredients into the pot before placing the lid on it.

When he went to start on the dishes, Tina bumped him out of the way. “I got it.”

Richard leaned back against the counter, combing a hand through his unruly curls. Tina turned on the hot water and put the stopper into the sink. She poured some soap over the dishes and grabbed a scrub brush. Her calloused fingers scrubbed vigorously at the dishes. She must play an instrument as well then. Gavin hadn’t told him the specifics of what she played, but it was clearly a stringed instrument, if the callouses on her fingers were anything to go by. The dishes fell from her hands, clattering in the sink and she spun around to face him. Her hands were coated in soap bubbles and some splattered on the floor with her exaggerated hand movements.

“You just found out last night, didn’t you?” Her brown eyes widened at the realization. “Oh, shit. You two were supposed to have a date, weren’t you? And then, you came over, and he was all-” she waved her hands, as if that explained it, “Oh. Fucking hell. I really didn’t even think to- Jesus, I am so sorry, Richard.”

Her shoulders deflated and she pressed a soapy hand to her face. They both halted. Richard snorted. Tina burst into laughter before grabbing a towel to wipe the soap off her face. At least, that’s what Richard had anticipated. Before she did that, she flung a wad of bubbles at him. They landed on his shoulder and as he started toward her with a slight smile, she cracked the towel at him. It caught his leg with a loud _thwack._

Everything went still for a moment. Richard leapt into motion, snatching his own towel and snapping it at Tina.

“Ow!” She leapt back before launching forward and snapping the towel at him again. He ducked out of the way and took another strike at her, a grin pulling onto his features. “Nines, you’re such an asshole!”

“So I’ve heard.”

“ _Motherfucker!_ ” Tina swore when the towel popped her thigh. 

“Both you and Gavin really need to watch your langua-” The sharp crack of the towel against his side cut him off.

“Could you two be any phckin’ louder?”

The two froze, turning to face the doorway where Gavin stood with a tired smile. He leaned against the doorframe, only in boxers and a beige sweater, with his cell phone out. Tina threw her towel down on the counter. “Gavin! You should be lying down.”

Richard used the towel in his hands to wipe the soap bubbles off of his shoulder before going over to Gavin. Gavin lowered his phone when Richard got closer, a smile filled to the brim with exhaustion on his face. Richard opened his arms and Gavin stepped forward into them. “How are you feeling?”

“Horrible. I’m tired of just laying down, though. I know I should… I just…” Richard held Gavin loosely, combing a hand through his messy hair. Gavin’s voice was weak, almost desperate when he said, “Can we do something?”

“We could livestream!” Tina chimed in, shuffling over to the counter where she’d set the mail. She picked up the mail and passed it off to Richard, who in turn offered it to Gavin.

“Okay. If Richard’s down with that.” Gavin took the mail from Richard, flipping through it with a nod. He stopped with a slight hum and opened a card-sized envelope. He turned it to face Tina. “You get this?”

In his hand was a beautifully decorated wedding invitation. Across the top half of the invitation, spelled out in a loose black calligraphy, it read: _We’re getting hitched! You’ve been invited to the wedding of Margaret Amelia Jennings and Aiden Jay Carter!_

Tina nodded. “Yeah, I RSVP’d this morning. Can you believe Maggie’s getting married?”

Gavin passed the mail back over to Tina before turning to Richard. “Maggie’s my cousin in Tennessee. T and I lived with her in Nolensville for about a year or so after we graduated college. We’re pretty close, for being some odd seven hundred miles apart.”

Richard nodded, looping his arm around Gavin’s lower back. “I’ll make you a cup of coffee, if you go sit down. Are you hungry?”

“Not really.” Gavin shook his head. “But coffee sounds good.”

Richard switched spots with Tina, letting her guide him off to the streaming room before setting about making coffee. He took a glance at the wedding invitation Tina had set back on the counter and moved the soup off of the stovetop. A soft hum of thought pushed through his mouth as he opened the cabinet to retrieve three coffee mugs. He was swift in preparing the coffee to everyone’s preferred tastes and snagged Gavin’s medicine bottle from off of the counter. He’d taken some early that morning, but he’d probably need more anytime now. Richard put the orange bottle into the pocket of his sweatpants before turning to the pantry to grab some sort of carbohydrate. Gavin would be sick if he didn’t eat with the painkillers. After grabbing a sleeve of crackers and tucking it under his arm, Richard took ahold of the three mugs of coffee and headed to the room where he heard chatter coming from.

Thankfully, the door wasn’t closed all the way, so he bumped it open with his shoulder. Tina rose from her computer chair to come over and help him. She took the crackers and her mug, labelled on the side in pink cursive: _I’m not always a bitch. Just kidding! Go fuck yourself_. She set it down on a coaster on the desk and placed the crackers next to it. Richard passed Gavin his mug (which read: _I hate being sexy, but I’m a violinist. I can’t help it._ ) and took a seat in the wooden chair from the kitchen that Tina must have brought in while he was making coffee. He set his own mug on a coaster and raised an eyebrow at the words across it. _I’m a science major: There’s a good chance this could be vodka._ was scribbled across the side of it in what looked to be Gavin’s handwriting.

“You majored in science?” Richard raised an eyebrow, crossing one of his legs over the other. Gavin as science major wasn’t quite something he had anticipated.

“Uh, yeah.” Gavin nodded, a slight pink spreading across his cheeks. He turned to Tina, motioning to his eyes. She leaned forward, kissed his nose, and stood to leave the room. He rubbed his eyes. “I majored in BME with my brother. I dual majored in Chemistry, but my brother dual majored in Robotics and Engineering. That’s how Tina and I met. She majored in Chemistry. We both became musicians on accident. I grew up playing violin and piano. I was at some stupidly posh event after college, and the violinist was in a car accident, so I stepped in. I guess I was pretty damn good because I had a lot of people asking after me later. So, I just kinda started doing it. It was good money. Plus, now I play at a bunch of posh events and make bank. It’s how I afford a three bedroom apartment.”

“Then, surely, the events you play at don’t bore you?” Richard leaned forward with a content smile.

“Not particularly. I enjoy some of the speakers I hear. The one where we met wasn’t bad, actually. Didn’t pay too much attention though. Most others are pretty lame though.”

“Unsurprisingly, you are not wrong on that front.” Richard leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to Gavin’s lips. “I am glad we met at the BMTC. You make me very happy.”

Gavin’s cheeks flushed. “You’re such a fucking sap.”

“You like it.” A teasing smile appeared on Richard’s face.

Gavin set his coffee mug aside and wrapped a hand around the base of Richard’s neck, pressing their foreheads together. His eyes were half-lids. “Yeah, I do.”

They kissed.

When a catcall came from the doorway, Gavin drew away. Tina entered the room, closing the door behind her. She tossed Gavin his glasses case. He caught it with fast reflexes and opened the case. Inside were his glasses, with the sleek black frames. The top of the lenses was open (to be honest, Gavin hated that aspect. He should really get new glasses soon) with the frame only going across the bottom. Gavin slipped them on his nose and his whole face seemed to relax. It wasn’t like he couldn’t see without them, he was just near sighted. When he turned back to his boyfriend, Richard’s face had this… expression. It was gone in a flash, switching back to a blank contentedness. Richard leaned forward and kissed him again, murmuring against his lips, “I like the glasses.”

“Annnd starting the stream!” Tina announced right into Richard’s ear. He rolled his eyes, pulling away from Gavin. Both Gavin and Tina took a moment to hop on their phones. A peek over Gavin’s shoulder informed him they were tweeting to their fans about the stream.

After a moment, Gavin adjusted in his chair, looking back up at the computer camera. He set his phone down and waved at the camera as the chat filtered in on the side of the screen. His voice was soft when he spoke, “Hey guys.”

“Hey guys,” Tina mimicked. Her eyes flickered to the second monitor. “Whoops, Traci, I totally forgot to update your status with all of the shit going on. Here, I’ll do it now.”

**_dipshitqueen has been upgraded to mod status!_ **

_dipshitqueen: hey Gav, how are you feeling? You look horrible_

_fucktheknights: hey captain dipshit how’s it going_

_fucktheknights: is tall dark and dreamy the new beau????_

_fucktheknights: congrats Traci!_

_gavinisgay: Gavin is back!!! <dancegavindance.emote>_

_gavinisgay: I dig the glasses, btw_

Gavin ran a hand down his face as the Gavcats began to overload the chat. He waved his hands at the camera. “I’ll answer your questions, calm down. Today’s just going to be a chill hangout stream, ‘kay? I’m still feeling pretty shitty, so I don’t know how long I’ll hang with all of you.”

When Gavin looked back at him, Richard offered him a supportive smile. Gavin took a sip of his coffee, set the mug down, and took Richard’s hand. “Gavcats, this is Richard. Er… You all call him Nines. He’s my boyfriend.”

Pausing, Gavin stared at him. Richard raised an eyebrow in question. Gavin stood from his chair and a pulling at his hand had Richard on his feet as well. Richard allowed himself to be manhandled into Gavin’s computer chair. Gavin sat down on top of him sideways. His head rested against Richard’s shoulder and his legs draped over the arm of the computer chair. “My very warm, very comfortable boyfriend.”

Richard snorted, rolling his eyes fondly and lifted his arms to curl around Gavin. After ensuring Gavin was comfortable, he turned his gaze to the computer. “Please excuse him. He is currently on pain medication for his injuries and is not quite himself.”

“Jesus, Dick, you sound so posh.” Tina grinned at him and turned to the computer. “They’re so sweet that I could vomit. You guys saw the tickle-fight video from last week?”

_dipshitqueen: duh_

_gavinisgay: how could we not_

_lastpieceofpie: it’s been all over the discord for fucking **days**_

_princesspepper24: you two are so cute!!! <heart.emote>_

_dontkilltheturtles: gavin… are you in your underwear??_

_catkingdom: the discord won’t fucking shut up about the fucking video_

_catkingdom: their fucking memeing it._

_gavinisgay: @catkingdom they’re_

“You posted that!?” Gavin jerked in Richard’s arms. If Richard hadn’t been holding him, he would have jolted upright. Richard combed a hand through Gavin’s hair, pulling his boyfriend close to him. Gavin was so small. He really wasn’t even that small, though, was he? But sometimes, he certainly seemed small. Gavin relaxed under his touch almost instantaneously. Did Gavin even realize how effortlessly Richard could get him to relax? He seemed keen on these sorts of matters, but this time, it didn’t seem like he was aware.

“Yep.” Tina winked at Gavin before facing the camera again. “Well, Gavcats, this is the infamous Nines – because Gavin’s introduction didn’t do him justice. He makes fucking amazing coffee by the way.”

Richard tightened his arms around Gavin, just enough to be snug, but carefully avoiding his injury. “I’m glad you enjoy it. My brother isn’t a coffee drinker, so I’m afraid my skills often go to waste.”

“What’s your brother’s name again, Rich?”

Richard let out an amused huff as Gavin leaned his head back against his collarbone. His fingers danced up and down Gavin’s side. “His name is Connor. We’re twins.”

The room went silent for a moment. Then, at the same time:

“You’re… A twin?”

“Oh my _God_ , it makes so much sense!”

_dipshitqueen: only a twin could deal with Gavin’s levels of bullshit_

_moneyrunner: god oh my fucking god_

_fucktheknights: this is too perfect_

_dontkilltheturtles: twins… so there’s someone else that looks like **that**??_

_lastpieceofpie: @dontkilltheturtles we’re all fucking screwwweddd_

_fucktheknights: @dontkilltheturtles @lastpieceofpie melting at the fucking thought_

“First off, fuck all of you.” Gavin groaned. “Second of all, I’m giving a blanket apology for all of these assholes now.”

_moneyrunner: y’know Nines if you’re going to stick around you should make some social media accounts and hang w/ all us cool people_

“That isn’t a bad idea, now is it?” Richard winked at Gavin who groaned again. He buried his face in Richard’s collarbone.

_lastpieceofpie: that wink *swoon*_

_dipshitqueen: gavin never did tell us if he topped, but I think the answer is obvious now_

Tina burst into laughter, her hair tumbling out of her messy bun at the motion. Richard leaned toward her and with his free hand, plucked the mug of coffee from her hands and set it on the coaster on the desk. He settled back against the chair and raised an eyebrow at Gavin, whose face had gone red. “Traci, you’re such a bitch.”

“Well, if you truly would like an answer to your question-”

Gavin’s hand clapped down over his mouth. The glare he threw Richard was nothing short of fierce. “I swear to _phckin’ God_ , if you so much as-”

Oh. He was flustered. Richard could work with flustered. Richard’s tongue poked between his lips to drag along the skin of Gavin’s hand as seductively as possible. His hand rose to wrap around Gavin’s wrist, holding it still. He moved Gavin’s hand, turning it to have only a single finger against his mouth.

The look in Gavin’s eyes was a wild sort of surprise and arousal. He was completely debauched from something so trivial.

Richard licked up Gavin’s index finger slowly. From beside them, Tina cleared her throat. Releasing Gavin’s wrist and drawing away, he winked at Tina and combed a hand through his curly brunette locks. “I had to teach him a lesson. That was the best way to do it.”

_fucktheknights: I could watch you teach him a lesson all day_

_dontkilltheturtles: fuck, you could teach me a lesson_

_lastpieceofpie: fuck those fucking hands_

_lastpieceofpie: fucking fuck <phck.emote> _

_catkingdom: 6969696969 <eggplant.emote> <eggplant.emote>_

_baileygetsdrunk: new sub, notice me senpaiiii_

_rawrrawrrawr: fucking spank me daddy_

_welovetrashcan: <911.emote> <911.emote> thirsty af y’all_

_gavinisgay: <911.emote> <911.emote> someone page the fucking doctor_

_dipshitqueen: <hydrate.emote> <hydrate.emote> you thots_

“Jesus!” Gavin slapped a hand on Richard’s arm. “Fuckin’- I hate all of you.”

When Gavin dropped his hand back down to his side, his expression twisted and he let out a long, shaky breath. Richard looked at Tina, “Crackers?”

She nodded and passed the crackers to him. He handed the crackers to Gavin. “Darling, I need to shift you a bit. I have your medication in my pocket, alright?”

Gavin’s eyes were still clenched shut, but he nodded slowly. Richard curled an arm beneath Gavin’s lower back and lifted him up slightly, just enough to reach a hand into his pocket to pull out the small orange bottle. Gently, he lowered Gavin back down onto his lap. It took some coaxing to get Gavin to open his mouth. Richard pushed a pill in it and waited for Gavin to swallow before opening the crackers. “You need to eat, sweetheart, or the medication is going to make you sick. Then, in about an hour, when it makes you sleepy, I’ll clean your side.”

The nod against his shoulder was the only affirmation Richard got. The chat on the computer screen spammed a flurry of concern messages mixed with comments about how cute they were together. Tina offered him a small smile before turning her attention to the chat herself. She spoke with them, and while she did that, Richard let his focus stay trained on Gavin. He’d occasionally chime in with commentary, but for the most part, he kept to himself. Gavin slowly chewed on the crackers, not really eating them, but not ignoring them either.

_catkingdom: why are you both so fucking cute_

_welovetrashcan: can we give you a ship name??_

_dipshitqueen: @welovetrashcan don’t bother asking, just do it._

_baileygetsdrunk: ship names are my favorite_

_catkingdom: Ganines, Navin, Ganes, Gavines, Gavinines, Ninevin_

_dontkilltheturtles: Ricin?? Gavard? Richvin? GavRich?_

_fucktheknights: Richin Rivin Gard Ravin Ricvin_

“I personally like Ricin. Did I pronounce that right?” Tina chimed in with a grin. “Or Gavard, Ganines, or Rivin. Those are my favorites.”

“Those are all phckin’ horrible.” Gavin groaned, causing Richard to chuckle. “Try something else.”

Tina hummed in thought, turning to look at Richard. “Nines? Your opinion?”

“Navin isn’t horrible.” A twinkle of amusement danced across his face. “Though, my preference is my actual name. Ravin isn’t bad either.”

_dipshitqueen: there is officially a twitter hashtag now #ninevin_

_baileygetsdrunk: I hate that one_

_baileygetsdrunk: fuck no do ganines or richin <no.emote>_

_welovetrashcan: #ninevin_

_catkingdom: #ninevin_

_dontkilltheturles: #ninevin_

_rawrrawrrawr: fuck off @baileygetsdrunk #ninevin_

_gavinisgay: #ninevin_

“Ninevin? I dig it.” Tina raised her coffee mug to her lips with a laugh. A shrill ring of the doorbell stopped whatever she was about to say next.

Gavin jumped in Richard’s arms. Richard combed a soothing a hand through his hair. “Are you expecting company, Gavin?”

There was a long pause. Eyebrows knitted together and a glassy look to his eyes, Gavin hummed in thought. It was a soft, sleepy sound. “Um, North?”

“Hey, dipshit! I’m coming in!”

“You gave her the passcode?” Tina threw him a questioning expression. She quickly began to adjust her sweats to make herself presentable. “ _Fuck!_ ”

“And a key, which was a phckin’ mistake.” Gavin muttered, low enough that only Richard caught it. He snorted. Louder, Gavin called, “Back here!”

_gavinisgay: who’s north?_

Gavin rolled his eyes at the chat before meeting Richard’s inquisitive gaze. “North was my nurse at the hospital. She’s my consistent nurse, and one too many times I don’t go to follow-up appointments. So, she has a key. Gavcats, you’ve all fucking met her before, you little shits.”

There were three raps on the door before it swung open to reveal who Richard assumed was North. Her hair was down underneath a maroon beanie atop her head, and she wore sweatpants and gray sweatshirt with a black tank beneath it. She’d already taken off her shoes which presumably meant she’d also hung up her jacket by the door. “Hey T, how’s it going?”

Tina combed a hand through her black hair, letting it fall from its messy bun and smoothing it down. A blush tinted her cheeks, and Richard couldn’t fight the smile. Tina was crushing on North, then? Cute. “I’m stuck with Gavin’s injured ass, so things definitely could be better.”

North nodded toward Richard, who offered her a charming smile in turn. “This must be the ‘phckin’ hot’ dick that you’ve been on four dates with?”

“I’m Richard Arkait.” After giving Gavin an amused grin, he spun the chair to face North. The nurse leaned against the doorway, her eyes widened a little and her mouth made a small “oh” shape. The surprise and understanding in her expression was quickly schooled into a playful smile. Her tawny brown eyes dropped to Gavin, who was curled up small in Richard’s lap.

“Hey, handsome. Why don’t we get you cleaned up, and maybe even manage to put you in some pants?”

A ping from the chat caught Richard’s attention and Tina snorted a laugh.

_catkingdom: why am I not surprised Gavin isn’t in pants_

_fucktheknights: of course he’s not wearing pants_

_lastpieceofpie: #underwearstreamreturns_

North’s gaze drifted to the computer screen and she grinned, winking at the camera. “Hey, Gavcats. Long time no see.”

“Phckin’ hate all of you.” Gavin grumbled as North entered the room, squatting by Richard’s chair. She pointed at him with a stern glare and his grumpy look withered. He slid his legs off of the arm of the chair and North stood. She slowly helped maneuver him out of Richard’s lap. When they stood, Gavin was braced completely against her body weight. She could have been carrying him, with how little weight Gavin was actually holding up himself. Strong woman. Richard nodded with a respectful tilt. It was commendable. Gavin wasn’t large by any means, but he was certainly still a full-grown man. Gavin turned his head to look at Tina. “Tina, you got this for a bit? Keep ‘em entertained?”

“I’m certain that between Richard and I,” Tina smirked devilishly, “we’ll be able to figure something out.”

 

 

“Where do you want to do this?” North angled her head at Gavin as soon as they were out of the streaming room. She’d kicked the door shut behind them, successfully trapping Trashcan in the room with Tina and Richard. Gavin offered a tired grin. The poor fuckers.

“The bathroom.” He replied, letting her shuffle them across the hall. “It’s the cleanest room in the apartment.”

North plopped him down on the toilet seat and helped him out of his sweater. She shut the bathroom door and locked it. She scanned the bathroom once, her gaze lingering in the corners of the room as she took off her beanie and tied her hair up into a ponytail. The maroon beanie was a stark contrast with the white marble of the counter connecting to the sink. It was surprising how clean the counter actually was, if Gavin thought about it. He hadn’t been able to clean the apartment in a week just because of time and then because of his injury. Gavin shook his head once and North set about rummaging through his cabinets.

“Didn’t you bring your bag?” Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow.

The glare North cut him was sharp. “Why do I need to bring my bag when you keep it all here? After all, it isn’t like you getting injured or maimed is a new occurrence.”

“Well, you know what, North?” He snapped in a hushed tone. “This would be a whole lot fucking easier if I didn’t have my brother breathing down my fucking neck. I’m being fucking watched, North. So, I’m being as fucking careful as I fucking can.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the bathroom. North laid out his first aid supplies and washed her hands in the sink. She leaned back against the counter, waiting for them to air dry before she set to work. She let out a long exhale and rolled her shoulders. In a softer tone, she asked, “Did you read your paperwork?”

“Nope. Burned it as soon as I got the chance.”

North sighed and grabbed the small tube of antiseptic. She knelt at his side and peeled off the bandage covering the bullet wound. A short hissing sound escaped his mouth at the coolness of her fingertips. She threw him a grin and set the antiseptic tube on his thigh as she inspected the wound. With a soft hum, she grabbed the antiseptic tube again, popping the cap open with her thumb. “You been taking care of it? It looks good, but a little tight.”

“Not myself, no. Mostly Hank or Ti.” The tension seeped out of his shoulders at the topic change. North’s fingers were gentle in applying the gel. His face scrunched and he released a shaky breath at the pain from her touch. “Y’know she’s totally into you, right?”

“Well, she isn’t exactly subtle.”

Before Gavin could reply, he jerked back, shoving North away. He buried his face into the trashcan and vomited.

“Shit.” North swore, leaping to her feet and disregarding the medical supplies. “Tina!”

“’s wrong, North?”

“How many times have you vomited? How bad has the nausea been?”

He couldn’t answer, just buried his face into the trashcan again. North sped out of the room and he could hear her going back into the streaming room. “Tina, how many times has he vomited? Has he had a fever?”

There was an answer, but Gavin couldn’t hear it.

“Call a fucking cab, and I’ll get Markus on the phone. For fuck’s sake, Gavin. Can’t we have a fucking injury without fucking complications for once?”

“’s not how we work around ‘ere, North.”

“Josh is going to be fucking pissed.” She wrapped his arms around the trashcan. His boyfriend was suddenly by his side and scooping him up. North had her phone out in seconds and was talking to someone. “Good thing you leave the ringer on when I come to see him. You at the hospital? You’re going to want to be.” A pause. “Tightness around the wound, some redness. That alone wasn’t cause for concern, but then he started vomiting.” Her hand reached forward and touched his forehead. “He’s feverish too. Sweaty. Tina says he was fine for the past few days, but it was- Yeah. I think it’s internal bleeding. I don’t know what the fuck we missed, but the cab is one the way now, because an ambulance is just going to be fucking slow coming from this part of town and if we get a ticket, Anderson’ll get us out of it. Yeah. Okay. Will do.”

North turned back to Gavin, “Hey, handsome. We’re going to get you back to the hospital and as good as new. Yeah?”

“Markus?” Gavin managed to ask.

“Yeah, we’re going to Manfred Memorial.”

A sluggish nod was all Gavin could manage.


	2. I Continue to Care For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s kinda cool, right?” Tina asked quietly. “I can see your science-y gears turning in your head. You’re totally fanboying right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooooo~! Another update!
> 
> Here we go y'all, heed the tags!

“North, talk to me. What’ve we got?” Markus’ sped toward the gurney being wheeled into the emergency room where Gavin laid barely conscious. His skin was ashen and growing paler by the second. A greenish hue coated his cheeks. Nausea. North guided the gurney with one hand, but Gavin held her other hand captive, gripping it tight. Gavin’s gaze was glassy, rolling from North to Markus before starting to lose focus.

They rushed through the hospital hallways, Tina and a man (presumably the boyfriend Gavin had been talking about) following closely behind them. North winced. “It isn’t pretty, Markus. His abdomen is tight, and getting tighter. I checked his wound about fifteen minutes ago at his apartment. He’s feverish and vomited three times at the apartment, four times in the cab.”

“Page radiology.” They were jogging through the hallway fast enough that Markus’ lab coat whipped behind him like a cape. He cut North a sharp look before turning to the three nurses rushing in from the main reception area. “Prep a CT scan. We closed the wound internally. He shouldn’t be bleeding unless if something ruptured, or we missed a lesion. Which we didn’t.”

Markus stopped, motioning a few nurses to take the gurney. He turned to Tina. “Go to the waiting room and get yourself a cup of coffee. Anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll figure out what’s wrong with him and fix it.”

As Tina led the man off, Markus didn’t fight his smile when he heard her mutter, “God, that is the hottest fucking woman I’ve ever met.”

A tight grip on his arm turned his attention back to North. Her voice was a dark whisper when she asked, “You know who that is right?”

“Gavin’s boyfriend, correct?” Markus raised an eyebrow, guiding her into a walk to weave their way through the hospital and to radiology.

“ _Richard Arkait_.” She hissed through her teeth, her eyes narrowed.

“Richard Arkait? Gavin is dating Richard Arkait? Does he even know?” Markus took his arm from North’s tight grip and rested it on her lower back. “To be quite honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t.”

“I don’t think so.” North shook her head. “He doesn’t really keep tabs on big-name people. Says he’s got enough people in his life that will do it for him.”

Markus clicked his tongue as they entered the doors to radiology, where Gavin was already in the process of a CT scan. The black screens were lit up with varying white line pictures of Gavin’s insides. What he saw caused Markus Manfred, the man who never so much as hesitated, to freeze.

“Oh, _fuck._ ”

 

 

“I fucking leave the kid alone for a day, and he’s already back in the hospital?”

“Lieutenant, I will ask you once, and _only_ once, to keep your voice down.” Markus’ voice was the very definition of calm as he intercepted the man in the hallway. “Gavin is in recovery from his surgery.”

“Surgery?” Hank’s gray eyebrows lifted. “What the fuck didja do to my kid, Markus?”

Markus let out a long breath. He placed a hand on Hank’s shoulder, steering the man away from Gavin’s room and into a more secluded area. When Markus was certain they were safely away from all prying eyes and ears, including Tina and Richard, he spoke again. “He was chipped. The microchip was probably in fine to begin with, but with the several injuries Gavin’s had in the past year- Well, it was most likely jostled too much and must have broken through the sheet of muscle it was trapped in during his last surgery. Then, over the past few days, it clipped the blood vessels and veins we had just sewn up after the surgery causing Gavin to start bleeding internally.”

“Why didn’t you see the chip when you did the CT to find the bullet?”

“It was designed to be practically invisible if trapped in the muscle. But, since it broke out during the surgery, or some point after…”

“You were able to find it.” Hank ran a hand down his face. “Jesus. The poor kid doesn’t get a fucking break. You took it out, right?”

“Yes. We removed it. But, as far as Richard and Tina are aware, pressure against his injury caused a vein to rupture.” Markus shot him an expectant look.

The lieutenant sighed. “So keep my trap shut. Got it.”

                                 

 

“Out.” Hank pointed at the door to Gavin’s hospital room. Richard and Tina were seated beside the bed where Gavin lay unconscious. “Both of you. Out.”

Tina stood, crossing her arms over her chest with a scowl. “But, Hank-”

“Nope. Not another peep from you.” He subdued her protests with a firm glare, which Gavin referred to as the “Dad Look”. Hank pointed to the door again and Tina ground her teeth together. “You both look fucking horrible. Especially you, Tina. You’ve been here for over a day. At least go get some fucking coffee.”

There was a pause. Hank looked over to Richard and Tina motioned to him. “This is Gavin’s boyfriend, _Dad_.”

“You keep calling me dad, and I’m gonna start treatin’ you like my kid.” Hank pointed to the door. The lieutenant turned to Richard. “I don’t care if you are the boyfriend. You look like shit, so get out. The least you can do is get a cup of coffee. Imagine how bad the kid over here would feel if he woke up and you two looked so fuckin’ bad that I should talk Markus into admitting you.” Tina opened her mouth again, and Hank held up a hand. “Don’t wanna hear it, kid. Go get a fucking cup of coffee, and have Mister-Boyfriend here take you home so you can both at least shower and make sure the cat isn’t fucking starving. I’ve got this.”

“Fine.” Tina snapped, grabbing Richard by the arm. She caught Hank’s sigh as she dragged Richard out of the hospital room. As soon as they were through the door, she released his arm. “Fucking Hank. Being so fucking- Ugh!”

Richard let out a long breath as they strode down the hall. “He’s just concerned about you, Tina.”

“I fucking know that, but I need to be here!” She spun to face him, throwing out her arms. “I need to fucking be here because I was the one fucking watching him and if I had noticed sooner then things wouldn’t be this fucking bad!”

She jerked away when Richard’s hand touched her arm. “It’s my fault it got this bad!”

Tina fought against Richard as she was pulled snugly against him. Her fists hit his chest, her voice raging with fury. “Let me go!”

Richard stayed silent, holding her in his arms. She fought against him until her arms ached. Finally, she slumped forward into his arms and rested her face on his chest. Her lower lip trembled as she choked back tears. He rested his chin on top of her head. “No one blames you, Tina. No one. It was a complication with his surgery the first time. It could have happened to anyone. It’s no one’s fault. Do you understand?”

She took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“Good.” He released her, patting her head with a playful smile. She rolled her eyes at him.

“C’mon, Nines, let’s go back to Gavin’s place.”

They left the hospital and called a cab. While they waited, Tina burrowed against Richard to fight against the cold. He only laughed, returning her embrace. Once the cab actually arrived, it didn’t take long for them to get back to the apartment complex. Richard walked half a step behind Tina as they walked through the complex and into Gavin’s apartment. His eyebrows drew together. Tina’s stride was angled, keeping weight off of her left leg. Was she hurt?

Tina punched in the passcode and they entered the apartment. She combed a hand through her hair with a sigh. Richard touched her arm. “I’ll make some coffee. Why don’t you go take a shower?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” A dazed expression sat on her face as she wandered off to the bathroom.

Richard made his way into the kitchen as Trashcan exited the laundry room, coming to brush against him. A long sigh pushed through his mouth. As Richard pulled the coffee grounds out of the cupboard, his cell phone rang.

“Richard Arkait.” He answered.

 _“Richard.”_ His brother’s voice spoke through the phone. _“I found something. Are you alone?”_

“For the most part.”

Waiting for Connor to reply, he set about getting the coffeepot going. There was a terse pause. _“Clarke’s audio was transmitted from the bombing attempt.”_

“And?”

 _“And it seems Gavin being shot was completely accidental.”_ There was an unspoken _this time_ that dangled in the silence of Connor’s pause. _“However, that isn’t what I called to tell you.”_

“I’m losing patience, Connor.”

Instead of Connor replying, an audio recording came through the phone. _“ ‘He has so many puppets- It- It gets better- I found the files, they were supposed to be burned years ago. Kamski- He- He has a brother-’ ”_

Then it was a different voice, one masked by a modifier. _“ ‘Who do you think watches over Kamski’s brother?’ ”_

“Kamski has a brother?” Richard started the coffee machine and opened the cabinet to take out two mugs. “And the White Wolf is his guardian? Well, big brother, I do believe matters just got much more interesting.”

_“It certainly makes sense on why it’s so difficult to locate the White Wolf. If Kamski has a brother, it’s more than likely all traces of his existences have been removed.”_

A loud thud followed by a scream of frustration from the bathroom cut Richard off. “Connor, I have to go now. We’ll discuss this more when I come home. Gavin is in the hospital again, so I’ll call you as soon as I have a moment free.”

 _“Don’t be going soft on me now, Richard.”_ His brother teased.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket. Richard raced to the bathroom door and knocked. “Tina, is everything all right?”

A choked sob muffled by the running water was the only response he heard.

“Tina, I’m coming in.” Richard opened the door to the bathroom and his eyebrows rose in mild surprise. The shower curtain was thrown back, the curtain rod jostled slightly out of place. Tina lay in the bathtub portion of the shower with shampoo bottles strewn about. His gaze shifted to her left leg where a sleek white, high-end prosthetic was attached just below her knee. Oh. “Are you all right, Tina?”

She shook her head back and forth, almost violently. She was trembling beneath the spray of water. Tears streamed down her cheeks. He reached over and brushed his hand across the top of her head, smoothing down her hair. Richard turned off the water before grabbing a towel from the cabinet beneath the sink. “Let’s get you dried off and into some clothes.”

“N-Nines, I can’t- I can’t-” The words were broken and barely coherent. “My leg, I can’t-”

“Sh, I know.  I’m going to bundle you up and carry you. Okay?”

“Dresser in the streaming room,” She hiccupped as Richard wrapped her in the yellow fluffy towel. He scooped her up bridal style and carried her out of the bathroom. She curled up against him, her head pillowed on his chest. “Clothing.”

“Do you want me to set you down in Gavin’s room first?”

She shook her head, “No, no, no- Don’t leave me alone- I can’t, don’t-”

“Sh, shh… I won’t leave. I promise. I won’t leave.”

He approached the streaming room and Tina reached out to open the door for him. Bumping it open with his knee, Richard carried her in. When they got over to the dresser, Tina’s hand peeked out from under the towel to grab some clothes from the top drawer. She shoved the drawer shut and Richard carried her into Gavin’s bedroom. He set her gently on the edge of the bed. Richard placed his hands on either side of her and lowered himself to meet her gaze. “Do you want me to help you get dressed?”

Using the towel to wipe her eyes, she nodded.

“And you don’t mind if I see you naked?”

She shook her head and handed him her clothes. He set the pile on the bed beside her and knelt on the floor. From the top of the pile, he grabbed Tina’s underwear. They were blue with black cats across them. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Adorable. With careful hands, he maneuvered her askew prosthetic leg into the underwear before helping Tina into them. She dropped the towel and he grabbed the next article of clothing. It was an oversized gray t-shirt that read _Detroit Police Department_ in worn blue letters.

“I can get a hairbrush from the bathroom, if you’d like.” He asked, motioning to the door. She shook her head again.

“No,” Tina sniffed. “Can we go to the living room though? I’ll call my prosth-tech from there.”

Richard paused, tilting his head. “You do know this is what I do for a living, correct?” He glanced down at her leg. “I design and engineer prosthetics.”

“So you could recalibrate it?” She asked, angling her head as well and raising an eyebrow. Her eyes were still watery and her cheeks were stained with her tears, and she looked at him with a soft, timid expression.

“Most likely. I’d need to inspect it more before I can make declarations like that. But I’ll do what I can to tide you over until your next appointment.”

“Can we still go to the living room? I can turn on the AlexaRadio in there.”

With a nod, Richard looped his arm beneath her knees and placed his other arm across the back of her shoulders. He picked her up and carried her through the apartment into the living room. He would clean up the apartment a bit later, but for now, Tina was his primary focus. He set her down on the sofa. Trashcan darted out from underneath the sofa and into the kitchen. Richard turned back to Tina, taking the seat across from her on the sofa. She rotated to lean back against the arm of the sofa and didn’t protest when he lifted her leg into his lap. In a soft voice, she called out for the Alexa to play some quiet music.

“How’s your pain level, Tina?” He asked, carefully running his fingers across the smooth texture of the white and gray paneled prosthetic. Her face twisted at his touch on the hybrid plastic. Richard stopped. “You can feel that?”

She nodded. “Y-Yeah. I was a trial patient for this prosthetic.”

At the top of the prosthetic, there was a small symbol, almost invisible. “Is this CyberLife prosthetics?”

Tina nodded again. “Yeah.”

“If you can feel this,” He said, his voice soft as he watched her. “it won’t be pleasant. Keep talking to distract yourself. How did this happen?”

“Uh-” She paused, leaning forward. She pointed to parts of the leg. “This is a pressure plate, and there’s a compartment on the other side. I don’t have the lubricant with me, but there should be enough in there that I can fill it tomorrow. It lasts a pretty long time. I don’t know exactly how to recalibrate it. But, I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Letting out a slow breath, Richard moved closer to Tina. He propped her leg up a bit higher in his lap, grabbing a throw pillow from behind himself to slide underneath it. The shell of the leg itself was beautiful; simple panels of gray and white panels. With careful fingers, he pressed in one of the pressure plates. A large gray panel over the shin opened. His lips parted as the inside of the prosthetic was revealed.

Blue muscle tissue was in place around the firm structure of a silver bone structure. Over the muscle tissue, blue and red wires wove around each other, and intricate spirals of braided color stretched to the top of the leg. The wires protected the blue muscle tissue by intertwining with it. Upon closer inspection, the tissue-wire hybrid appeared to be made up of several different types of synthetic foams and plastics form into a soft, yet firm tissue. The tissue was translucent; surrounding what appeared to be a functioning muscular and arterial system. A blue liquid pumped inside of the artificial arteries and veins, flowing from the top of the leg down to the tips of the toes.

It was… Impressive.

It wasn’t too far off from designs Richard had worked on with Connor, but this… This was something entirely different all together. The blue lubricant – Kamski’s specialized thirium – was what seemed to hold the entire prosthetic design together. Combining the nerve endings of a prosthetic to the nerve endings of a human- Well, it was unheard of. It was incredibly risky. There were many people had not only lost the ability use the nerve endings because of trials, but others often lost the feeling in the entire limb. Kamski was the only one to accomplish it.

“It’s kinda cool, right?” Tina asked quietly. “I can see your science-y gears turning in your head. You’re totally fanboying right now.”

Richard offered her a small smile. “I will admit it is quite impressive. I am surprised by the nerve-connection function actually being successful. Most people lose the feeling in their limb entirely because of the manipulation of the nerves. They tear and almost always have too much damage done to them for feeling to be kept in the leg.”

“Yeah. It’s pretty high-tech.” She stopped, frowning down at her leg. Tina wiped at her face again. “Can… Can you not tell Gavin about this?”

Richard raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate.

“Press the yellow button on the inside of the panel you opened. It’ll halt the thirium flow. Then, press the green one so I won’t be able to feel it as you recalibrate it.” She motioned for him to continue working as she started to talk. He obliged and let her talk as opened the compartment on the back as well. After a bit of gentle fiddling and pulling at the wires, it was relatively easy to figure out what controlled what. Her leg appeared to be over-calibrated. Any request her body made had been over processed or incredibly under processed. If she told her leg to move forward, it would either exaggerate how far it needed to go, or it would severely underestimate how far it needed to go. Which explained how she fell in the shower.

“Gavin… Well, he doesn’t know about it.” She sighed. Richard’s gaze flickered up to her face. Tina leaned back, her eyes focused on a movie shelf next to the television. “He was out of the country at the time, and we weren’t particularly close. It was a few years ago. Something was going on with him. He’d just gotten out of a nasty breakup with his ex, David, and was travelling Europe with his sister-in-law. That was before she had the baby. They were there for six or seven months, actually. And at the time, I had Grace. My ex.”

There was a long drawn out pause. A glassy expression had appeared in Tina’s eyes. Her eyebrows drew together and she pursed her lips. “And then there was the accident. It was bad. I was walking home from the grocery store. It was rainy, but not too rainy. Grace and I were living together. And she had a cold. So, I went out to pick up some soup and sick day stuff. I was on the crosswalk, and out of nowhere, there was a blaring horn and bright lights. Then all I felt was pain. Everywhere. I was in the hospital for two weeks, and they said I was lucky to even be alive.”

Tina wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “I didn’t tell Gavin. He finally seemed so… happy. I didn’t know how. But, his brother came to see me. Told me about a product trial at CyberLife, where he worked. We struck a deal. If I kept an eye on Gavin for him, protected him, he’d get me a spot. So, I took it. It was an extremely long, extremely difficult process. Grace left me. It was too much for her. I was too dependent on her. Hank helped me finish rehab. The day I finished, Gavin came home. I never told him. I never knew how to. It’s been too long now, so I just haven’t. It’s easy to miss. The synth-skin matches mine, and looks real.”

She shrugged, her gaze dropping down to where Richard was tinkering with her leg. As soon as he finished putting everything into its proper place, he reactivated the thirium flow. It rushed through the leg and Tina wiggled her toes, offering him a smile. “Feels better. Thanks, Nines.”

He patted her hand. “Anytime, Tina. Anytime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's end of this part.
> 
> Hey, so quick question! Do you guys like the fic in parts? Or should I condense it all into one fic? Or do both?

**Author's Note:**

> For next time:  
>  __  
>  _"Richard.”_ His brother’s voice spoke through the phone. _“I found something. Are you alone?”_
> 
> “For the most part.” 
> 
> There was a terse pause. _“Clarke’s audio was transmitted from the bombing attempt.”_


End file.
